Villeneuve: 1997 glory and the regrets that followed
The 1997 world title was decided in a final-round collision between Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher. The Canadian recalls that season 20 years on, and opens up about the career decisions he made later that he now regrets
When Jacques Villeneuve qualified on pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by 1.7 seconds, you could be forgiven for not expecting the 1997 world championship to go to the wire seven months later.
But from the moment he was wiped out by Eddie Irvine in the opening seconds of the race the following day, Villeneuve was on a collision course with Michael Schumacher that would conclude in the most controversial of fashions in an epic final-round decider at Jerez.
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